How Bad Was The Trump Administration For Americans' Health? In A Word, Horrible
Daily Kos, March 13, 2021.
In February, 33 medical doctors, lawyers, and academics from various health and policy-related fields in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada released the first major comprehensive report examining the impact of Donald Trumps presidency on this countrys public health policies, and the consequences to Americans lives as a result. These commissioners were chosen for their recognized expertise in relevant disciplines (including clinical medicine, epidemiology, public health, community medicine, and nutrition, among others), as well as law and politics. The group, called the Lancet Commission on Public Policy and Health, was also carefully weighted to include substantial representation by women and people of color.
Their report, Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era, is the product of four years of research and data accrual and analysis. It has been previously referenced on Daily Kos here and here; however, due to its length and fulsome content (10 separate sections, buttressed by 368 footnotes), it is not easily summarized. Not only are the adverse effects of Trumps health policies examined and placed in context, but also the harmful social and political repercussions of an administration that plainly sought to distance itself from the global health community through its virulent, xenophobic aims.
The report is more than simply a devastating indictment of the Trump administration, although it certainly succeeds in that respect.
The exacerbation of income inequality and other societal problems in the U.S. that preexisted Trumps ascent to power, caused in large part by decades of regressive tax policies favoring the wealthy, gross racial disparities in incarceration, education, and housing, and the privatization of employee healthcare and decline of union membership are also explored, since those factors are inextricably tied to the debilitation of Americans health, life expectancy, and well-being. Each section within the report includes a historical backdrop to place Trumps actions in context. Notably, the authors point out that many of these problemssuch as increased wealth disparityprovided a fertile breeding ground for someone like Trump in the first place, by heightening Americans susceptibility to racist and xenophobic appeals.
Even with this ambitious, all-inclusive scope, the absolutely damning character of the reports conclusions regarding Trumps singular impact on the country is stunning enough to deserve broader exposure here and elsewhere. If nothing else, the Lancet report serves as a reminder of just how much damage can be inflicted on this country and its people by a malevolent and thoroughly amoral executive branch. The policies put into place by Donald Trump resulted in tens, if not hundreds of thousands of very real deaths; the authors also stress that the consequences of those polices will continue to harm the country well into the foreseeable future, despite policy reversals that can be implemented by the Biden administration. Probably the most glaring metric showing exactly how toxic and harmful the Trump administration was to this countrys overall health is the regularly updated map depicting the worldwide spread and prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as the COVID-19 dashboard prepared by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center...
More, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/13/2019720/-How-bad-was-the-Trump-administration-for-Americans-health-In-a-word-horrible
- The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard.
burrowowl
(17,606 posts)PinkTiger
(2,590 posts)Is making me sick, literally.
Is that the purpose?
I mean, I can't look at it without getting sick to my stomach.
appalachiablue
(41,055 posts)Trailrider1951
(3,409 posts)You can opt to remove all signatures from member's posts. It's the next to last item in the list. I have chosen this because some of the signatures contain items I really do not care for. Hope this helps!
madinmaryland
(64,920 posts)What am I missing?